Daily Search Forum Recap: February 6, 2026
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google unleashed its first core update of 2026…
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Discover Core Update, Listicles Hit, Google Ads, ChatGPT Ads Ready & Microsoft Publisher Content Marketplace
This week, we covered the first core update of 2026, the February 2026 Discover core update. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing super-heated and volatile Google search rankings. Google has nothing to share about the recent unconfirmed ranking updates…
Google AI Mode Follow Up Search Suggestions
We saw Google test follow up questions below the AI Mode responses back in July. Now Google is testing follow up search suggestions, not necessarily in question format, at the bottom of some AI Mode results.
Google Ads Mixed Campaign Type Experiments Live For Some
The Google Ads mixed campaign type experiment beta, which we covered the help document last month, seems to be going live for some advertisers. This feature allows advertisers to test multiple campaign types, budgets, and settings across campaigns in …
Bing Unshipping Frankenstein Recipes In Search
We covered how horrific the AI-based Frankenstein recipes can be in Google Search, where it mashes up recipe steps from various publishers and acts like it is a real recipe from a source. Well, Bing had something similar but Jordi Ribas from Microsoft…
Google Partner Portal Gets A Redesign
Last week, Google updated the design for the Google Partner Portal for advertisers. Google said the new look makes it “simpler to understand your goals and to track all your points activity.”
Report: ChatGPT & Perplexity Treat Structured Data As Text On A Page
To fuel the debate in the SEO world of the topic of structured data and LLMs and AI engines, we are hearing that once again, AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity are not using structured data in any special way.
How to Build AI Citations — Whiteboard Friday
Learn how to build AI citations and rank in ChatGPT and Gemini. Charlie Marchant explains how to research prompts, analyze sources, and use proactive outreach to get your brand referenced in AI answers.
February 2026 Google Discover Core Update Rolling Out – Local Impact
Google has released its first core update of 2026, which is focused on just Google Discover. Google named it the February 2026 Discover core update. This one is rolling over the next two weeks or so just English language users in the US and at some poi…
Google Ads Multi-Party Approval Aims To Stop Hijacking Ads Accounts
Google has launched what it calls Multi-party approval for Google Ads. “Multi-party approval (MPA) is a security feature for Google Ads designed to protect your account from unauthorized activity by requiring a second account administrator to verify hi…
Google Local Hotel Photos “Good To Know” AI Labels
Google is testing labeling some photos in the local hotel listings with “Good to Know” AI-generated descriptions of some of those photos. These labels seem to summarize what the photo and reviews say about the specific area of that hotel.
Google AdSense Reports Gain Browser, Hosting App & Operating System
Google AdSense seems to be rolling out new metrics for the AdSense reports in the console. These include Browser breakdown, Hosting App breakdown and Operating system breakdown metrics.
Google Personal Intelligence Small App Icons In Responses
Did you know that when Google AI Mode uses Personal Intelligence, Google will add icons of the various connected Google apps used to tailor your message. So you might see a Gmail icon, or Google Photos icon or Search or something else show up as a cita…
Microsoft Advertising Tests Magazine Answer Card Ad Format
Microsoft Advertising is testing a new ad format within its newish Answer Card format called a magazine layout. These load ads in the card formats you see at the top of some of the Bing search results.
Google’s February 2026 Discover Core Update
Today we’ve released
the February 2026 Discover core update. This is a broad update to our systems that surface
articles in Discover. Our testing shows that people find the Discover experience more useful and
worthwhile …
Google AI Overviews Bug Removes Links & Citations
Google confirmed there is a bug with AI Overviews not showing links for some responses. The bug was spotted by Lily Ray, who posted some examples several hours ago. Rajan Patel, Google’s VP, Engineering for Search, replied saying it is a bug and Goog…
Google Ad Revenue Up 14% – Google’s Biggest Revenue & Ad Revenue Yet
Google reported its earnings today, its Q4 2025 earnings report showed ad revenues up by 14% at $82.3 billion and overall revenue was up 17% at $113.8 billion. I specifically like to dig in as best as I can on the ad revenue side to see how Google Ads …
Daily Search Forum Recap: February 4, 2026
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google’s search rankings are highly volatile…
Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Big Time Starting On February 2nd
I was hoping, well, not really, that Google would calm down a bit since we had such a volatile January. But the Google Search results volatility is still very volatile, and the shuffling in those results is still shaking up.
Microsoft Publisher Content Marketplace – Pay For AI To License Content
Microsoft announced the expansion of the Microsoft Publisher Content Marketplace. This marketplace is designed to give publishers a new revenue stream, provides AI systems with scaled access to premium content, and deliver better responses for consumer…